Have you ever reached a point where the number of obligations you had made you feel overwhelmed? Saying “no” to the next request for your time may not be your first instinct, but it can help relieve the stress of being overcommitted. That stress can make you feel run-down and more likely to get sick. When you say “no,” you can direct your energy toward fulfilling your existing commitments or open up time to pursue something else that interests you.

No, I will not!

(you had to see that one coming)

An Unlikely Ending
On Friday night I met up with some friends at 57th Fighter Group after work. While the weather appeared to be beautiful it was quite cool in the shade (at a table not picked by me), especially when the wind kicked up. After far too long I finally remembered that I keep my $50 Coors Field windbreaker (purchased out of necessity at a Rockies game years ago) in the Jackmobile, so after fetching it I was fine.

Weather not withstanding the afternoon was fun, but when night fell our server turned from Dr Jekyll to Mr Hyde. The server was attentive until the restaurant became crowded, then he was absent. I ordered a Reuben sandwich with chips and an extra side order of cole slaw. When the food arrived the cole slaw was missing, so I politely asked for it. Our server arrived with the $4 side item as I was taking my last bite of my sandwich. And because I know that I am a fast eater I made efforts to slow down to give him a chance to get the cole slaw to me before I was done.

“Too late, I didn’t want cole slaw for dessert. Please take it back because I don’t want it any longer.” I said.

“Well, I’ll just leave it here to save me the trip.” was his response.

“Fine, but I’m not paying for it. Please make sure it’s taken off the bill.” I said.

Rare was the appearance of our server again, and at one point we had to flag him down to put in a request for our check.

Seriously, we waited nearly twenty minutes before one of the guys at our table went up to him and told him that we’d be walking out on our tab if he didn’t bring the check soon. The check arrived a minute or two later, with the $4 cole slaw still on it. There is no way that I was going to chance asking him to rerun the bill, he probably wouldn’t have returned for another twenty minutes.

I don’t stiff waitstaff, but my tip was brutally low and I mentioned on the cole slaw on my receipt.

It may be a while before I return to 57th Fighter Group again.

Moving Out: The “Not Me” Edition
“Do you work for Trees Atlanta?” I heard from across the street from the woman carrying a large bag to the curb. The query was because I was clad in my (now old) Trees Atlanta t-shirt.

I politely denied working there and inquired about all of the stuff on the curb “Cleaning up, or moving out?” I asked. “Moving out.” was the reply.

Though I barely know the people who were living in the (rented?) house across from me I’m always concerned when people move out because you never know who is going to move in. Of course I’m still hopeful for my dream of a group of single, tattoo-less, attractive women to occupy that space.

Can’t Take In The Ball Game
After my long day at the office on Saturday I decided not to head to Turner Field after all. I figured the game would be on the television and at my house I’d have a far better selection of much cheaper beer.

I tuned the TV to Fox Sports South, the channel on which I assumed the game would be showing; the game was listed in the guide, but it was blacked out. I saw another listing for the game on MLBTV, it too was blacked out. This made me believe that the game was being shown locally on Fox or PeachtreeTV, it was not.

So I watched hockey instead.

Timing Is Everything
I was in the work area around 7:30am yesterday and was planning on popping into Publix and perhaps Einstein Bros Bagels (remember when Atlanta had a few different bagel places?) for some breakfast when I saw all of the cones in the street. “Aw fuck, there is going to be a 10k this morning? I better just run in and out of Publix today so that I don’t get caught on the wrong side of the street.” I though aloud.

As I walked into Publix I heard someone call my name (unfortunately a guy’s voice), it was one of my old former coworkers (also named “Paul”) who I haven’t seen since he left the company about eight years ago. He was finishing up his Publix trip that he was making solely because Home Depot doesn’t open until 8am on Sunday.

It’s funny how shit like this works out. Had there not been the 10k I would have eaten a leisurely breakfast at Einstein Bros and then gone into Publix, and the encounter would have never happened.

Today’s Personal Project
Start making plans for fun times, even if those fun times happen alone.
Guess who has still yet to book his flight to Brussels?

Stats & GoalsDailyCurrent Mood – nervous about a lot of thingsCurrent Music – silence at the momentWebsite Of The Day – Even though I am not buying anything for my house that is no reason for me not to point you at interesting sites like Society6 so that you can buy stuff for yours.Mode Of Transportation To Work – my carExercise (b)Log – Sunday = racquetball, 1+ hoursMorning Weigh-In – Arg, I keep failing to jump on the scale

April Goals
– have European trip plans in place, if not carved in stone
– clean my basement to the point where I could have people over
– hire a plumber to fix all of the sinks at the ITP Estate
– walk no fewer than 75 miles

2014 Goals: Measurable
– Get my weight down to 190 pounds so that I can wear a 36″ waist pants comfortably
– Completely read ten books, audio books permissible
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Completely run at least one 10k
– Fix all (or at least most) of the things which are wrong with the ITP Estate
– Sell the ITP Estate (tentative)

2014 Goals: Unmeasurable
– Continue to Simplify, simplify, simplify
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
– Eat smaller portions
– Start, and continue, to make my own bread using my bread machine as well as using the technique outlined in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
– Read and discard magazines during the month in which they arrive (even digitally)

8 Comments so far

Steve on
April 28th, 2014 @ 09:10

52 gallons of paint. That’s what it took to get the fence painted. Aye carumba! It was a long battle on Saturday, but I was battling complete exhaustion yesterday, as I was completely covered up to prevent the paint covering me which is what happened Saturday. The other battle fought was finding all the paint. We depleted the inventory in Newnan and LaGrange as well as putting a dent in Carrolton. We bought 4 yeaterday and will bring back 2, with some of the last can for touch ups.

Ugh.

-FP

Barb on
April 28th, 2014 @ 09:14

I had a pretty busy weekend, almost all of it outside, so teh pollen & now the molds from the rain are makingme feel like crap today.

Friday night – had a few freinds over for dinner out of the deck. It didn’t seem cold at all for us, I’m guessing we were out of the wind.

Saturday, Sharon & I decided to go bike out on the Path Foundation trail at Arabia Mtn. Rumor has it it is finished all the way out to the Monestary near Conyers. We didn’t get that far, but it is a beautiful trail, very windy & actually quite hilly. Not a fast ride at all, but it was very enjoyable.
We then headed to the Inman Park Festival, I realized I’m not a festival shopper. Way too booths of what I feel are the same thing (even though I know they aren’t). And – so many people.

Sunday – Allan had to sleep, so no Mayors ride for us. We did ride over to Roswell to watch some crit racing in the afternoon, and then the rains came. Talked Mike Mende into giving us a ride home, with the promise of me buying pizza. It was fun hanging out, even if we got soaked. I guess there was a “good” wreck at the Athens Crit Saturday night, but even with the wet pavement, didn’t see any crashes yesterday.

And thanks to Bob & Laura, we got some free beer tokens.

bob on
April 28th, 2014 @ 09:43

The weather this weekend was awesome until Sunday evening. We got soaked leaving the Braves game. What a crazy weekend too, never really overwhelmed but busy the whole weekend. Baseball, birthday party, bowling, biking, all went well. Sunday we rode the Mayor’s ride 20 mile option on the tandem with a trail a bike, that was really fun. I’m getting better at piloting that cruise ship.

Barb, I’m glad you were able to use the beer tokens. I really wanted to go to the crit but Braves game with Travis and his t-ball team won out. I saw a photo with Allan in the background and wondered why he wore a cycling jersey to the crit. Now it makes sense with you saying you rode over there.

I think I need to take an early lunch and go for a ride before the next storm rolls in.

Barb on
April 28th, 2014 @ 10:03

hey Bob – did you have to walk up any hills Sunday? Sometimes the steep hills are impossible on a tandem. I heard they changed the route a little bit too?

Martha on
April 28th, 2014 @ 10:04

Yes this weekend was great, I tried to make the most of my outdoor time.

Friday was just dinner on the deck, I have mentioned how much I love that covered deck?

Saturday I was up early and took a couple of friends out to Sweetwater for some trail running. They’ve moved some of the trails around the visitor center, I was a little out of sorts for a minute while I was figuring it out. The ‘highlight’ was finally meeting the Other Laura Hall. We went to Inman Park, I guess we just missed Barb and Sharon, the place was a zoo, and I’m with you Bard, I can’t shop at those things…there is so much junk to sort though and/or its too crowded and I feel rushed when I do finally see something I like. After we went to Lowe’s and Jenka came over for, you guessed it, drinks on the deck.

Yesterday was mulch, mulch and more mulch. We moved between 30-40 loads to the back yard. In addition we helped Mango load up the pecan wood. Barb, he has your share.

I had to make Jerry stop about 3:30 (I don’t know what go into him yesterday) I knew if we kept going neither of us would be able to walk today.

bob on
April 28th, 2014 @ 10:22

Barb, we were able to make all the hills I’m just glad I’m still in shape from Snake Creek, some of the hills were TOUGH! It made me happy to pass others that were walking
They reversed the direction through Martins landing so that really fast sweeping downhill we had to climb, that was the roughest. The rest of the hills were not too bad.

Barb on
April 28th, 2014 @ 10:36

Bob – we dropped the chain on one big hill trying to get it shifted, there was no re-starting on the hill. I guess I need to try riding the opposite way thru Martin’s Landing, I’ve never done that.

Laura – I’m glad Mango got all the wood out of your way, if we decide we need some, we will go steal it from him. He does have the log splitter….!!!

Mulch – what a good time. NOT.
and Painting Steve- another NOT good time.
We really need to get to painting the trim & eves of our house, maybe I should remind Allan to get started on that?

bob on
April 28th, 2014 @ 10:51

Yeah the big rigs are finicky, you have to anticipate and shift early. Hills are a real challenge on a tandem.